3/1/09

Chicago's Best Donuts

Circle, circle, dot, dot...Yelp's giving you a sugar shot! What better day than Fat Tuesday to indulge in the most perfect sin ever devised: the delicious donut? Precisely. And since there's no day like today, this Weekly Yelp is here to enable your ceremonious gorging with some sweet spots to snag a few dangerously doughy treats. Get eatin', Chicago!

Chicago boasts the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw, and has the authentic bakeries (and perfect paczkis!) to prove it. Liz M satisfies her cravings at Chicago Sweet Connection and especially favors the "amazing fresh strawberry" paczki, while Jon J witnessed them "coming out of the kitchen fresh and delicious" at Delightful Pastries in Portage Park. Still not sold? In a recent Talk thread, Carolynne R describes these heavenly treats as "Frankenstein versions of a jelly donut." Just what the doctor ordered, mwahaha!

Dreaming of Dat Old Fashioned Donut? Peter F "got a real kick out of biting into one bigger than his head (the Big Dat) in the dark silence of 4am on Cottage Grove & 83rd." He kindly reminds us they are open 24 hours for all of your round-the-clock fried dough needs. Meanwhile, the glazed version at Old Fashioned Donuts is a hole-in-one as far as Preet C is concerned, what with its "nuanced deliciousness of a well-made french pastry – light and fluffy inside, amazingly crisp outside and a glaze that will literally melt away at first bite." We'll take five... dozen! But wait, Huck Finn's got the goods for Terri M; she often snags a box of "freshly made on the premises" donuts to bring to work with her the next day. Talk about Employee of the Month!

Back on Talk, Krsna V spouts that "donuts are the crass, unwanted cousins of the beignet!" Well, Chicago hasn't quite cornered the market on this sweet southern staple, but we can sure try, right? Katie P tips us off to "perfectly light, fluffy and sweet beignets" that come complimentary with brunch at Big Jones, while Angie T opts for "apple beignets and a flight of ice cream" for dessert at vegetarian haven Green Zebra. Ready to turn it up to eleven? Sandy R was wowed by the "mission fig beignet with cara cara oranges, butterscotch and bacon ice cream" at Blackbird. Have mercy, it's as close to NOLA as we're going to get! Now, where did we put those beads...